Garth Brooks was the man responsible from breaking the stigma in country music of signing up for a Las Vegas residency when he announced in 2009 he would start a string of weekend shows at Encore on the Las Vegas Strip. But to the surprise of many critics and fans, Garth, who officially came out of retirement to play the shows, did not re-ignite the wild pyrotechnic, flying harness days that allowed country music to reclaim the stadiums in the early 90’s. Instead he delivered a stripped down show featuring acoustic numbers and surprising substance.

Last night Tim McGraw and Faith Hill began their stint of shows at Vegas’s Venetian, and apparently the show opens with an unveiled shot at country music’s traditionalists and two artists they hold dear: Waylon Jennings and Hank Williams. Tim and Faith’s “Soul2Soul” show opens up to Waylon’s “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” playing mockingly, to make light of the irony that a country duo is engaging in a full blown, ubiquitous and garish Las Vegas spectacle that attendees said was no different than Tim or Faith’s arena shows save for being shown in an 1,800-person theater.

From CMT’s Chris Willman:

The new Tim McGraw and Faith Hill show in Las Vegas gets underway with a fairly riotous joke before the headliners even make their entrance. As the lights dim inside the Venetian Theatre, the sound system blasts “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way,” Waylon Jennings’ gently lacerating 1975 hit decrying the glitz-ification of country.

The implicit gag is that both Hank Sr. and Waylon would keel over again if they could see just what sort of extravaganzas are being done in country’s name in Sin City 2012.

Waylon’s terse, two-chord commentary on the state of country music has become a battle cry for country music fans disenfranchised with the state of mainstream country music since its debut. The title of the song has found its way into many other songs over the years giving voice to the slow erosion of country’s roots and values. Using this song in this manner crosses and even more critical line than Tim McGraw’s country-rap cry for attention and relevancy, “Truck Yeah”.

If Tim McGraw and Faith Hill had any taste, they would pull this unveiled shot at Hank, Waylon, and millions of country music fans that believe Waylon Jennings made an important point with “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way”; a point that is still relevant today, if not more relevant than ever.

85 Comments

I don’t think Tim and Faith are making fun of Waylon so much as they’re making fun of themselves. This is their way of acknowledging that their Las Vegas antics are outside the bounds of country music tradition.

The fact that any artist nowadays that wants to be known for substance can put out a completely pop song and say they’re being ironic or someone can do something like this and cite sarcasm is a decay in values and the substance of these comedic forms. Sarcasm is not a blanket “get out of jail free” card. I agree there’s of a little self-deprecation going on here, but it doesn’t mean that it still isn’t completely tasteless.

Yes, but unlike Tim and Faith, Kevin makes his living playing real country music, and when he does a cover of a country legend’s song, he does it with some goddamned respect.

Comparing Kevin Fowler doing something a little stupid and goofy on the side to Tim and Faith systematically pushing country music further and further into the realm of stupid and goofy as whole is like comparing Colt Ford to Henry Ford.

Tim McGraw’s first two albums were pretty awesome, but since then, he’s spiraled slowly into crappier and crappier music until we ended up with “Truck Yeah”.

Faith, on the other hand, has never put out anything I’d consider good. The grotesque distortion of one of my favorite Joan Jett songs into the theme for NBC’s Sunday Night Football by her is the latest thing that pisses me off about her.

“The implicit gag is that both Hank Sr. and Waylon would keel over again if they could see just what sort of extravaganzas are being done in country’s name in Sin City 2012. If nothing else, you’ve got to award Tim and Faith points for a sense of ironic self-commentary.”, said the CMT reviewer.

I think you are making much ado about nothing. Assumptions abound on meaning and that does what? Save country music?

Mike
December 12, 2012 @
7:47 am

“But there is plenty more to give them credit for and, whether or not Hank Williams would have done it this exact way, he might have as good a time as anybody watching a 90-minute show that’s tightly choreographed yet offers at least the illusion of voyeurism when it comes to country music’s first couple. Seeing the equal partnership between these two, he might even wish he’d made Audrey Williams a full-on duet partner. Or maybe, prompted by the sensual sizzle of the onstage coupling, he and Audrey would just want to get a room.”

I used to work for the this Scottish guy and he always told me “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.” I couldn’t agree with him more. These two are the lowest form of shit. They’ve been outside the bounds of anything you could remotely call “Country” anything for years…IMHO.

I disagree. Sarcasm, when done properly, can be brilliantly witty. I suggest that you watch the Colbert Report on Comedy Central. If you don’t have cable, you can watch it online at the Comedy Central website.

I agree with you that sarcasm is generally not part of country music tradition. However, one of the SCM Song of the Year candidates, Kacey Musgraves’s “Merry Go Round”, makes heavy use of sarcasm at the beginning of the song.

Possibly. But this bigger transcontinental Nash Vegas trend of twilighting pop country talent flying out there in private jets to make a casino-style spectacle of country music without any regard is what this issue speaks to.

Willie, dwight, Conway, and many many other country greats have played casino shows for decades. I find it strange tha Triggerman has a problem with someone making fun of someone else. Isn’t that the basis of this site?

The difference is they are artists and I’m a half-bit blogger. They are the cause and I am the effect. I would love to put myself on the same level as Tim and Faith, and if I was, I probably wouldn’t make fun of people. But I think that would be giving myself quite the inflation. Always remember, attack up.

There is a difference between playing a long-term Vegas residency in 2012, and playing a weekend stint back in the 70’s as part of a national tour. Nobody is saying playing Vegas or casinos is inherently bad. The very first thing I did in this article is point out how Garth went to Vegas and actually increased his level of artistry and substance. Since then, it has been all downhill for country performers. And for the record, I’ve never cared for Conway Twitty and his sexual miscreant music. And though I love Dwight and see him as a country music God, his insistence on playing casinos for the last few years almost exclusively is something I disagree with. That’s not where his crowd is, it’s just easily for him logistically and they are the few venues that can pay his guarantee.

I’ve never visited Vegas . Buffets and scores of retired couples in matching poker themed attire has never appealed to me for some reason . How long will it be before Faith walks in on her little man greasing Sigfried & Roy in his dressing room ?

You should visit sometime. I just traveled there last June, and the Strip is more gorgeous than ever. The tourists are of all ages and come from all over the world. This is no longer a low-rise city for elderly weekend gamblers. It is now a world-class entertainment center. I would especially suggest visiting Caesar’s Palace.

Las Vegas could really use an economic boost right now. The foreclosure crisis devastated the area, and the recession dramatically reduced the number of tourists there, thus seriously damaging the mainstay of their economy. The money you spend there could help reduce their extremely high unemployment rate.

All of the artists you listed except Kellie Pickler fall into the underground country category.

I’ve noticed that when you write articles discussing country music history, you tend to focus on pre-“Nashville Sound” country, Outlaw country, and sometimes Bakersfield Sound country. I’ve not seen as much of a focus on mainstream country music in the 1960’s, 1980’s, or 1990’s. I’ve also read an old article from you mentioning that you originally became a country fan by listen to Hank Williams and David Allan Coe. Based on these and other patterns, I was able to narrow down your key musical focus to the 4 categories that I mentioned.

Okay, Kacey Musgraves is not underground either. But Ray Wylie Hubbard, JTE, Corb Lund, and Lindi Ortega are all underground country (with JTE and Lindi Ortega being a mix of general Americana and underground country).

NEVER said I wasn’t a fan of George Strait or Alan Jackson, even though that seems to come up quite often and people cite it as fact without any links or quotes to where I’ve said as much. In fact I gave Alan Jackson’s last album a positive review, and had plenty of nice things to say about him.

My issues with Conway are mostly personal. I think he was one of the originators of the ultra-slick image-driven country that both Tim and Faith are derivatives of. It doesn’t mean he wasn’t a good artist with a hell of a voice. It’s more of a preference thing. Let me put it like this: there’s a reason Unknown Hinson heavily based his persona and look off of Conway.

There’s a difference between not being a “fan” of music, and yet still respecting or appreciating an artist. I don’t sit around listening to George Strait albums all the time, but that in no way means I put him on the same level as Tim McGraw for example. And even though Tim McGraw might be dirt doesn’t mean he still shouldn’t be given the same respect as any artist or human, and that’s why I’ve fought for him against Mike Curb’s oppressive practices.

Well cool im not the only one who dislikes Conway aswell, again personal reasons, mainly straight up stealing his biggest hit taking the songwriting credits and all but aint gettin into that here out of respect of those involved I personally know and the fact aint no way to prove it online and no need to but ive seen enough to be convinced 100%, can email me with the email I posted with.

Im not a blogger so luckily I dont have any standards to uphold myself to.

Eric
December 11, 2012 @
5:37 pm

Exactly. You’re just an anonymous Internet commenter making allegations about a country music icon while hiding behind your username. Until you can prove anything, what you say has absolutely no value.

Let’s not argue semantics. PLEASE. Stay on topic. This article has NOTHING to do with George Strait, Alan Jackson, or Conway Twitty, or whose online handle is more or less anonymous. Make your points and move on.

Eric
December 11, 2012 @
5:33 pm

You may be a fan of Alan Jackson now, but you didn’t use to be 4 years ago. In an article titled “Free Hank III Takes the Pop Country Challenge”, you called him a “fake-ass country superstar fucktard”.

Tim McGraw used to have significant substance in his music. I don’t think anyone would label songs like “Live Like You Were Dying” or “Just to See You Smile” as substance-free. Unfortunately, “Truck Yeah”, as well as this incident, may hurt his reputation going forward.

Yeah, Indian Outlaw had significant substance. That verse, “They all gather ’round my teepee Late at night tryin’ to catch a peek at me In nothin’ but my buffalo briefs
I got ‘em standin’ in line” was ground breaking. (Sarcasm alert)

The two songs I mentioned spent weeks at #1 on the country charts. “Live Like You Were Dying”, in particular, was one of the greatest country hits of the last decade. It won the CMA for Song of the Year and was even nominated for a Grammy in the all-genre Song of the Year category.

I’ll admit I’m not very familiar with Faith Hill’s early work. I absolutely love “Breathe”, even though it’s almost completely pop.

Over the years the music industry has gone in the direction of why wait for the next Waylon or Led Zeppelin they realized that they can lower the bar and still make huge amounts of money (by the way the bar is on the ground now). The majority of people have no musical background or taste they will buy whatever is said to be the next big thing…..they prodcers went “someones buying this shit..ok..lets put this crap out…..what they bought that too??….what were we thinking we can put out anything we dont need to wait for that once in a lifetime talent…so its now just a formula taken from what sells not from whats good hence when one act starts selling 50 look alike sound alike acts follow…..ok he/she has to look like a porn star or male model..check…throw in a hillbilly hiccup or two and some drawwwlll,fiddles,peddle steel,Im getting ill just thinking of the shite thats out there…..whammo next country star…when an industry figures out that people will buy anything the flood gates of mediocre to uninspired cookie cutter formulaic only in it for the money is born…..Im just glad I grew up in the 60s and 70s and saw it the first time around…..but good on this site for trying to find real talent…hello from Canada

They (Tim and Faith) are acknowleging they are the Ken and Barbie of so called country music by using Waylon’s song is the intro to their gig. No big shock. Lots of Artists play vegas and other casino’s. Why? MONEY! I don’t blame them the casino’s pay very well because they are not dependent on ticket sales and/or bar sales to justify the expense of booking a show. I recently saw Jerry Jeff Walker at Sams Town in Shreveport LA and the crowd was big the beer was cold and the show was good with excellent sound. Plus got to win a little money at blackjack. Hell even Dale Watson plays casino shows occasionaly, why not?

Trig, while it is not the main point you injected it into the discussion by mentioning Dwight playing a large number of casinos these days because they are the only ones who can afford to pay his, im sure, still large asking price. Ken and Barbie oh I mean Tim and Faith playing Waylon’s song pre-show is a wink and a nod to the Ken and Barbie aspect of their whole Vegas gig. Casino’s do lend themselves to that for sure hence Shania Twain’s new gig. However, guys like Dwight, JJW, Merle and George Jones who all play there fair share of casinos don’t change a thing because they are playing a casino. Tim and Faith etc. were presenting the whole glitz and glamor thing anyway Vegas or other casinos just enhance that presentation for maximum profit. So playing Waylon’s song is simply acknowledging what they and all of us already know.

Look, I don’t want to come across as a grand stander. I know this isn’t some huge issue. My only point is “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” was not written to be presented in this context. How would Tim or Faith feel about one of their songs being used for something they didn’t intend it to be used for? How does Waylon’s estate feel about this? Did they ask their permission? Do they need to ask them per copyright laws since it is a public performance?

If it wasn’t for Hank Williams, there would be no Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. So have a little more respect.

I’m gonna have to call you out here. This really is no big deal. Look, I love Hank and Waylon as much as the next guy, but being disrespectful is just that and nothing more. People are disrespectful all the time and most people never care. You do remember that thing where that dude made fun of Mohammed and there were protests around the world and people died? Remember how most Americans thought this was a major overreaction (and this doesn’t even come close the to same level of disrespectfulness)? Guess what, we have the first amendment and being disrespectful is covered (there are times when the 1st amendment is a hindrance to society, but that one of the costs of ‘freedom’). I don’t like that these two douchebags are doing this, but I kinda expect stupid stuff from these people; I’m not really shocked. That doesn’t make it ok but protecting people’s feelings is at the bottom of the list.

If the worst thing the people in the Middle East did in response to The Innocence of Muslims was write a strongly worded blog post, I don’t think anyone in the US would be clamoring about them overreacting.

“Look, I don’t want to come across as a grand stander. I know this isn’t some huge issue.”

We both agree here. This is not a big issue. The mistake I made in this article was not putting in some quick, qualifying sentence where I say, “Let’s make sure we don’t make too much of this, but…”

If you want to see me making a big deal of things, go check my coverage of the Billboard chart changes, or my rant on Florida Georgia line. This was a popcorn fart compared to the length and language I’ve used on many other issues that were much more important. At the same time, I do see the use of the song as wrong, and had a gut reaction and came over here and spoke my mind. And I did it in the greater context of this trend of country music in Las Vegas which is really the bigger issue I wanted to highlight.

Again I ask, how does the Waylon estate feel about the use of the song? That’s really what’s important.

they obviously realize their musical output is a joke within the confines of country music. they also realize that people have paid them millions of dollars to keep the joke going. i don’t really blame anybody for trying to make money; i blame the idiots that blindly support garbage. would toddlers & tiaras be on tv if people didn’t watch it? the question shouldn’t be why are they using the song in a disrespectful manner at their shows; it should be why do they have enough popular/financial support to put these shows on in the first place.

Perhaps because the idea that Tim McGraw and Faith Hill make “garbage” is just your opinion and not the opinion of most people? If you look at their musical output, it’s better than most of the songs on country radio currently.

yes, it is my opinion. and i absolutely do not agree that their current output (i will say that “not a moment too soon” is a good album) is any better than any other terrible pop country act going now (rascall flatts, luke bryan, etc.-another opinion). i was just saying that they’re good at making money because most people won’t dig deeper than what they hear on the radio to find better music. saying you like some lady antebellum song better than some kip moore song (because you have no other point of reference, music-wise) is like saying this pile of shit is better than that pile of shit, in my opinion. what passes for country music on the radio today is a joke, but the bigger joke is the fact that it got that way for a reason-people are listening to it.

Perhaps most people’s musical tastes are different from yours, and they prefer the music on the radio to whatever they would find if they “dug deeper”. For example, I hate the music from the “New Outlaw” crowd, but I really like most of Lady Antebellum’s songs. I know that this is a controversial opinion here, but I prefer “Need You Now”, “I Run to You”, and “Just a Kiss” to most of the underground country songs that I’ve heard.

true, most people probably have different musical tastes than i do. that’s fine. you should listen to whatever it is you like to listen to. i just wish people would at least make an attempt (as you have) to listen to something that isn’t force fed to them. if you don’t like it, fine. also, it seems to me that most people that strictly listen to the radio don’t actually like the music; they like the familiarity of the songs (lyrics, vocal tones, etc.). how many classic/timeless songs are being played on the radio today?not many, if any at all. its all about comfort through familiarity and who’s the next big thing (that is to say, a younger version of the previous big thing). i’m painting in broad strokes here, but this is what i see happening. and i know its not really a big deal, and tastes change, but its pretty annoying to me. on a non-country related note; how many people bought “who let the dogs out?” who’s still cranking that? this whole “listen to whatever’s popular because its popular, not good” is ridiculous

I don’t necessarily consider writing an article about something “making a huge deal” out of it. The only thing I think has been made a huge deal of is the movement to save country music. That initiated action, the website, twitter accounts, facebook, etc, THAT’S making a huge deal, and rightly so. This is an article. Not a call to arms.

And it’s an article I happen to agree with. I’ve always liked Tim McGraw. “Truck Yeah” sucks but that doesn’t mean he’s done for and I’ve never had a problem with Faith except she’s way more pop than country. I do believe this is a gross misrepresentation of Waylon’s song. Waylon wrote this song because it was something he believed strongly in, and was probably took a lot of pride in, and Tim and Faith disrespected that. However unintentional it may have been, they’re the same as a couple of kids mocking an old man for telling a “back in my day” story, rather than showing the respect he deserves.

I can’t believe you are arguing over music that is played before a concert. It is only used to excite the crowd and get them pumped up before the show. So what if they use his music, a lot of artists do it.

Tim and Faith are Country Royalty and have a lot of numbers ones and weeks at #1.

Ironically Tim McGraws/Faith Hill “Its’ your love” was the first song to spend 6 weeks at #1, the last to do it was Waylon and Willie Nelson, almost 20 years.

In defense of Conway, alot of his early output after jumping over from the rockabilly side is as hardcore honky tonk as it comes. See “Next In Line,” I Love You More Today Than He Can From Now On,” Fifteen Years Ago,” and of course, “Linda On My Mind.”

“the December issue of Las Vegas magazine had a headline that read “Nashville Takes Vegas.””

I’m telling you, this Waylon song issue may be small, but in the greater context Las Vegas is making a big move towards country music and this will have wide-reaching impacts in the short and long terms.

The economics of playing at a Casino almost by its nature means that you are well known, but not as big of a draw as used to be. When someone goes to see you at a club or venue, they are going because they want to see you play. At Casino’s they say “well I was going to go waste my money at a Casino anyway, and hey I may as well go to the one where Tim McGraw is playing.”

If Taylor Swift or Blake Shelton or someone currently popular tried to do this, they would obviously draw crowds, but they would not build to their brand in the way that touring the country does.

You basically have stars past their prime who are tired of touring, and realize they aren’t really out to grow their brand. They just go there because they get paid a lot. But Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are really not driving forces in country anymore. Brooks and Twain aren’t either.

The fact that they may have some stupid theatrics isn’t really going to make the new bands on the radio start being more theatrical.

There’s a separate issue with People like Dwight Yoakam, Merle Haggard, and George Jones who play a huge % of their shows at cheaper Casinos. I am guessing this is more profitable than playing at the medium-large size clubs they would otherwise be playing.

All things being equal I’d rather they play at the clubs. (George Jones used to always play this crappy Casino in Biloxi. When I lived in New Orleans, I felt like I had to go see him. I guess it’s worth it to say I saw him, but those places are so depressing.) But it’s obviously not popular, so that’s just the way it is across lots of genres. These are people whose fan base, the small cadre of young “underground country” fans most of whom have no money notwithstanding, is older. That’s what happens old acts who are moderately popular play in all genres.

Again, it’s unfortunate, but in the scheme of what’s wrong with Country Music, I don’t see it as that big an issue.

I think we make a lot of the same points about casino’s. Tim and Faith and everybody else that plays a casino in Vegas or any other casinos do it for the money. I do think at least in the Texas/ Red Dirt scene that bands like Randy Rogers and Jason Boland etc play the Oklahoma casino’s because yes the money’s excellent but they are still buliding their brands and have plenty of younger fans. I can tell you having experienced the economics of booking, marketing and presenting a show at a local dancehall. I would have killed to have the economic advantages bulit in to presenting a show in a casino enviroment.Most folks that play casino’s especially Vegas give a wink and a nod to the over the top glitz and glamour aspect of playing Vegas and that was not lost on Ken and Barbie(Tim and Faith).

I wasn’t talking about occasionally playing at Casinos a few times a year. I meant the type of people who basically play the majority of their shows at non-Vegas Casinos. See Dwight Yoakam and Merle Haggard, for example,

My guess is also that given that Boland and Rogers play tons of shows in Oklahoma anyway, no one besides their diehard fans are going to the casino shows, except those who are already inclined to be at a casino in the first place.

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Saving Country Music disseminates information about the state of country music, the underground country music movement, and the underground and DIY movements of roots, rockabilly, bluegrass, blues, and folk music.
It offers news, opinion, concert and album reviews, artist profiles, music history, and occasional off-color pop country bashing.